Overture Magazine 2019-20 BSO_Overture_Nov_Dec | Page 31

MESSIAH
Handel did not leave behind a
definitive version of Messiah; instead,
he reworked numbers and re-assigned
arias to different voice categories
depending on the soloists available for
each performance. Messiah’s solo sections
are divided between recitatives, which
place greater emphasis on delivery of
the words, and arias, in which musical
values and the showcasing of the singer’s
technical prowess take precedence. The
tenor’s two opening numbers are a good
example: “Comfort Ye, My People” is
an accompanied recitative and “Every
Valley” is an aria.
Perhaps the most stunning sequence
in Part I is the juxtaposition of the bass
soloist’s aria, “The people that walked in
darkness,” with the beloved chorus, “For
unto us a child is born.” In a marvelous
example of musical text painting, the
bass literally wanders in a chromatically
confused maze in the dark key of B
minor. The “great light” for which he
yearns is then joyfully revealed in G
major as the chorus salutes Jesus’ birth.
All the choruses demonstrate Handel’s
exhilarating technique of mixing
powerful homophonic or chordal
utterances (“Mighty! Counselor!”) with
a more intricate polyphonic style in
which each voice part pursues its own
elaborately decorated line (“For unto us a
child is born”). The origins of the ritual
of standing for the “Hallelujah” Chorus
are rather misty. Scholars believe that
the Prince of Wales may have stood up
when he attended that historic London
performance in 1749. Certainly by 1780,
everyone in the audience was following
King George III’s lead in rising for
Handel’s mighty hymn of praise.
Perhaps even exceeding “Hallelujah” in
majesty and joy is the magnificent chorus
“Worthy is the Lamb” that closes Part
III, the shortest of the three sections but
also the one most densely packed with the
oratorio’s greatest sequences (the soprano’s
serenely beautiful statement of faith, “I
Know that my Redeemer Liveth”; the
bass’ hair-raising proclamation of the Final
Judgment, based on First Corinthians,
“The Trumpet Shall Sound,” with its
glorious trumpet accompaniment).
“Worthy is the Lamb” itself is capped
with an “Amen” chorus on an epic scale
worthy of the masterpiece it closes —
unfurling in grand sweeps some of the
finest, most inspired choral counterpoint
this Baroque master ever devised.
2019-20 SEASON
SUPERPOPS:
BEN
CRAWFORD
BROADWAY
AND BEYOND
Instrumentation: Two oboes, bassoon,
contrabassoon, two trumpets, timpani,
harpsichord, organ and strings.
Notes by Janet E. Bedell, © 2019
THU, JAN 16, 8 PM STRATHMORE
FRI, JAN 17, 8 PM MEYERHOFF
SAT, JAN 18, 8 PM MEYERHOFF
SUN, JAN 19, 3 PM MEYERHOFF
Jack Everly, conductor
Ben Crawford, vocalist
Vocalist Ben Crawford, current star
of The Phantom of the Opera on
Broadway, returns to the BSO to
perform heartfelt show tunes from
Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, South
Pacific, Company and more.
TICKETS FROM $25
BSOMUSIC.ORG
410.783.8000 | 1.877.BSO.1444
GROUPS OF 10+ CALL 410.783.8170
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